ClickUp Lays Off 22% for Million-Dollar Salaries

ClickUp Bets on AI and Exceptional Salaries

The productivity startup ClickUp has recently made the radical decision to lay off 22% of its employees. This measure aims to redirect the company's financial resources to offer salaries of up to one million dollars to employees who demonstrate significant impact through artificial intelligence (AI).

Zeb Evans, CEO of ClickUp, announced on social media that these layoffs are not motivated by a desire to cut costs, but rather to reward the remaining talent. "Most of the savings from this change will go directly to the people who remain," he stated, adding that salary scales of one million dollars would be introduced for those who use AI innovatively.

An AI-Focused Transformation

For several months, ClickUp has intensified its adoption of AI, integrating these technologies to centralize workflows and improve communication within companies. Andy Cabasso, head of growth operations, revealed that the company encourages the use of AI agents, with him personally overseeing 37.

ClickUp's valuation in 2021 was approximately $4 billion, and the company currently has over 1,000 employees. Zeb Evans clarified that the goal is now to achieve a "100x output," necessitating a complete overhaul of systems around AI.

A New Organization of Work

In his message, Evans described a future workforce divided into three categories: "builders," "system managers," and "first responders." The first two groups will primarily be responsible for overseeing AI systems and automating some of their tasks, while the last group will focus on human interaction with clients.

A Broader Trend in the Industry

This move at ClickUp is part of a broader trend in the tech industry, where mass layoffs are becoming increasingly common. Companies like Meta, Amazon, Cloudflare, and Atlassian have also made workforce reductions while seeking to attract AI talent with competitive salaries. Meta, for example, recently laid off over 8,000 employees while heavily investing to recruit AI experts from companies like OpenAI.